Successfully survived his first tooth filling

It was last summer when Marty had his first consultation with a pedia-dentist.
Although nothing is aching yet, findings were a lot to be extracted and some
need to undergo filling. Unfortunately, due to his summer activities, his date with
a dentist was overlooked.

Last week was a pain struggle for my little boy.  He had his 1st pain when we
were dining out. 

Immediately after we brought him to a dentist and was advised to take anti-biotic

for a week due to gum-swelling.  He was also scheduled for tooth filling instead 

of extraction.  I also learned that if the tooth can still be remedied, its not advisable

to extract it so that when the permanent tooth comes out, it will have its guide 

to grow on its proper place. 

Just this Saturday, he had his first tooth filling. My son was so brave that he was

so cooperative during the entire procedure.  The dentist was also amazed with

him. I was the one who is nervous for my son. 

After an hour procedure, my Marty looked happy.  Also, he heard what the dentist

advised him on how to take care of his teeth so that he will not have anymore

toothache. Avoid sweets, cold drinks and stop drinking milk in a bottle. 

Surprisingly, he did not drink milk anymore in a bottle. Yehey, big thanks to his

toothache. I can now throw his bottles. 

A weekend of grooming for my son

All throughout my son' 1st year of schooling, he was used to having a little long
and curly hair. His barber is his father.  The later just trim it every time.

And because of their good grooming session in school every Monday as he
told me, we were able to convince him to finally have his hair cut in the barber
shop.

I requested a barber's cut for him using a razor. My son was just so quiet and
cooperative with the barber.  It helped also that the barber told short stories
that my son got fond of and never noticed that his long and curly hair is gone
already.

And here he is with his new hair style - clean cut and looks more matured.

Marty's 1st encounter with a dentist

Because of my son's aching tooth, we were able to bring him to the dentist at
Pediatric Dentistry Center Philippines last Saturday after several attempts.
We were actually referred there by my son's pediatrician since this center
specializes on the oral health needs of  children. 

Before making an appointment, I did my assignment of researching it in the net.
They actually have a website giving emphasis on  "Committed on the oral health
care needs of children and special children." and with services offered for oral
hygiene and diet instructions and preventive maintenance to name a few. 

We were too early then for our appointment of 8:30 AM so I let my son had a
photo-op to have a remembrance for his first visit to the dentist.

Just on time, we were approached by a gorgeous dentist, handed me a
registration form/questionnaire to fill-out and interviewed me afterwards.
After getting my son's medical background, we were brought inside the clinic
where the consultant checked Marty's  teeth. 

My son was cooperative then that the consultant didn't find it hard to
count and checked Marty's teeth.  Marty was given a Ben 10 toy for
being behave during the checkup.

Not too long, we were called by the consultant and discussed to us
his assessment on my son's oral health condition. Not as detailed as the
consultant explained to me, there are several teeth for pull-out, some
needs filling, needs to be cleaned-up and has 1 swollen tooth. In short,
a major repair/treatment is urgently needed if we want his permanent
teeth to come out and grow properly.

I asked the dentist on what could be the causes of all these.
a. Non-brushing or improper brushing of teeth. Should be 2-3 times a day.
    At Marty's age @4, he can now use adult toothpaste. No need to rinse. 
b  Since Marty is still drinking milk at night time, milk which contains acid
   damages the teeth. There should be no more milk after teeth is brushed
   before going to sleep.

After the assessment was explained, the options were discussed to us
on how the treatment will be done to our son.  If my memory is still right,
these are the options:
a. One treatment at a time, meaning 1 appointment maybe for 1 tooth
extraction which will entail a lot of sessions. And since my son is only
4 yrs old, its possible that he will be uncooperative for each session
and for sure will have that traumatic experience with a dentist which we
don't want to happen to our kids.
b. One-time treatment. With this, patient will be injected with anesthesia.
He is awake but not aware of what is happening and will not even remember
what was done to him. Aside from the side effects that anesthesia will
bring to my son, geez, it will cost us around 28-35 thou.

Contemplating between possible traumatic experience for my son and
that costly one-time treatment, I decided that we will visit our family
dentist this weekend and have my son's teeth checked.  Maybe for
a second opinion? And I hope it would not be that costly. 

Here is the contact information of Pediatric Dentistry Center Philippines:
Website :  http://www.pediatricdentistry.com.ph/PDCP/services.html.
Address: 5/F Medical Arts Building
              Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center
              11 Banawe cor. Cardiz Sts., Q.C.
Tel. No.: (632) 740-7728;  (63917)899-7336
Clinic Hours: Monday-Saturday 8AM-5PM

Better to make an appointment with them esp. if you want to go there on a
Saturday. Check-up fee is 500PHP.

With all the information I got about my son's oral health condition, still two thumbs
up for the great check-up service. At least, they are just being transparent in
terms of cost.